Come visit us for an in-person music event, on Sunday, January 31st at 12pm pst. Learn more here: https://archive.bgartdealings.com/the-flow-state/
Can’t make the in-person exhibition? Take a virtual 3D tour here:
Watch the virtual opening reception here:
A duo exhibition of artists Mike Saijo and Jim Holyoak.
Exhibit runs in-person from January 13th – February 13th, 2021. Online from January 13th – April 13th, 2021.
bG Gallery is thrilled to present Mutant Mountain / Quantum Ocean, a dialogue between new bodies of artwork by artists Mike Saijo and Jim Holyoak. Their work explores the dynamics of change, its constancy and its inevitability, within our physical and psychological environments.
When viewed within a longer field of time, a mountain, steady and sturdy to the human eye, is actually in a state of constant flux, transforming like a cloud in the sky or a wave on the ocean. Such is the focus of Saijo and Holyoak’s newest series of works: Holyoak with his drawings of morphing landforms and animals, inspired by, and often created during treks in the mountains, and Saijo with photo-based images from time spent in California’s waves, as well as examinations of quantum science, coupled with the influence of Hawaiian ocean cosmology.
This exhibit will occur both in person as a physical installation, and as an online gallery. Small numbers of local guests may visit at a safe social distance, while guests from around the world are invited to view the exhibit virtually and can request in-person virtual tours from gallery staff. Online events with the artists will take place throughout the duration of the exhibition.
Schedule of Virtual Events:
A conversation with Jim Holyoak and Mike Saijo via Instagram live: Tuesday, February 2nd at 5pm PST
A conversation with bG consultant Billy Gross and artist Mike Saijo via Instagram live: Saturday, February 27th at 12:30 pm PST.
Mike Saijo Influences via Zoom: Sunday, April 4th at 3pm PST.
Mike Saijo:
A native of Los Angeles, Mike Saijo guides his viewers through the complexities of “memory construction”: how memories are built, what goes into the creation of memory, and how it is preserved. Saijo touches on themes of loss, entropy, transformation and the unconscious. Influenced, in part, by ancient manuscripts, he reclaims history by redefining it based on human experience. Saijo transforms objects like books, office supplies, and building materials to construct art with a wide range of subject matter, from mid-century modern architecture, WWII photos, cinema stills, imaginary landscapes and the history of fashion. Saijo cites graffiti and Oshuji-Japanese calligraphy as some of his chief influences, dating back to his first “book piece” made using the pages of a New Testament Bible. His artwork has been exhibited internationally, and at shows in the Tompkins Square Library in New York and at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. Saijo has also been featured in a number of publications such as the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, and New York Magazine.
Mike Saijo was recently covered by Eric Minh Swenson, watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9W7K8_nwuc&feature=youtu.be
And here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-0ijouxB4Q
Jim Holyoak:
A drawer and writer based in British Columbia, Canada, Jim Holyoak’s discipline consists of room-sized drawing installations, book arts and ink-painting. In parallel to his solo practice, Holyoak has orchestrated numerous collaborative drawing projects, sometimes involving hundreds of people drawing together. His drawings blur plein-air observation with the imagined to create otherworldly beings and places. Though the content of his work ranges from the biological to the phantasmagorical, his persistent interests include metamorphosis, human empathy for other species and the challenge of fathoming deep time. Holyoak has attended artist-residencies in Mumbai, New York, Québec, Finland, Sweden, Iceland and throughout Norway. His work has been circulated widely in Europe and North America, including at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Montréal, the GEM Museum of Contemporary Art in The Hague, the Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art in Rīga, the Carnegie Mellon International Drawing Symposium in Pittsburgh and the Midlands Arts Centre in Birmingham, UK.
The artist gratefully acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.
